[Not Applicable]
Certain embodiments of the invention relate to convective cooling vents and more particularly to convective cooling vents used with electrical connectors.
Plug-in circuit boards with electronic components thereon are widely used in the telecommunication and computer industries, among other industries. Generally, power and data signals are conveyed to and from the circuit boards at a desired data rate using cables and connectors.
Depending on the application, such circuit boards, cables and connectors generate a lot of heat which may affect system performance and ultimately may affect signal integrity. As transmission speeds increase, increasing system performance and preserving signal integrity becomes more critical. To address such concerns, components that facilitate heat dissipation are preferred over those that don""t dissipate heat or have minimal heat dissipation.
A need exists for an electrical connector with improved heat dissipation. There is a further need for dissipating heat in electrical connectors using convective cooling vents in the connector. These cooling vents, are adapted to ventilate the connector in still air or to provide improved ventilation in moving air, adding to the overall total performance of the electrical connector since, by facilitating heat dissipation, the cooling vents enable any given connector to carry more current.
It is an object of at least one embodiment of the present invention to meet the foregoing needs and other objectives, which will become apparent from the detailed description, drawings and claims presented hereafter.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, an electrical connector or connector assembly has been developed that convectively cools an interior chamber of the connector. The housing includes at least one surface defining at least one vent adapted to create a turbulent airflow in the interior chamber. The vent fluidly communicates with the interior chamber using a channel defined in the housing. In one embodiment, these cooling vents are designed to ventilate a connector in still air or to provide improved ventilation in moving air. Improving ventilation improves the performance of the connector, as facilitating heat dissipation enables a given connector to carry more current.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the electrical connector has a housing having at least one mating surface defined on a first plane and a surface defined on a second plane, where the first and second plane are perpendicular to each other, is provided. At least one passageway is defined by the mating surface and adapted to receive at least one contact. At least one vent is defined by the surface and adapted to create turbulent airflow in an interior chamber.
In accordance with at least one alternative embodiment of the present invention, the vents are generally polygonal (i.e., multi-sided) in shape, having at least one edge adapted to create an eddy current along a surface. The vent shape may include, but is not limited to, diamonds, rectangles, squares, octagons, although circles and ovals are also contemplated. Further, the vents may be angled inwardly or outwardly from a side surface of the housing.
In accordance with at least one alternative embodiment of the present invention, the connector housing has opposing sides defining the interior chamber, wherein each of the sides defines a plurality of vents. The number of vents may be equal on both sides or different. The vents may be defined on both sides or only on one side. The vents may be arranged in rows, columns, or arranged randomly. All of the vents may be similar or different shapes. All of the vents may be the same or different sizes.
In yet another embodiment, the connector includes a plurality of electrical contacts. Another embodiment may include a plurality of passageways adapted to receive a plurality of contacts with a circuit board disposed in the interior portion.
In accordance with yet another embodiment, the present invention includes a circuit board for use with data transfer and power distribution. The circuit board includes a circuit trace and a connector adapted to engage the circuit trace. The connector includes a housing having opposing sides defining an interior chamber, where at least one of the sides defines a plurality of vents arranged in vent rows and vent columns where the vents are adapted to create a turbulent air flow in the interior chamber.
Another embodiment of the present invention includes a method of convectively cooling an electrical connector. The method includes creating an eddy current along a surface of the connector, then creating a turbulent air flow in an interior chamber of the connector using the eddy current. In yet another embodiment, the method creates the eddy current along one edge of a vent defined in the surface of the connector.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.